Nitrogen and tillage management for corn following alfalfa

Rotating alfalfa with corn can increase corn yield potential through improved soil physical properties that enhance water infiltration and root extension, a reduction in disease and pest pressure (i.e., corn rootworm), and an enhanced soil microbial community

Hormonal regulation of the epithelial Na+ channel: From amphibians to mammals

High-resistance epithelia derived from amphibian sources such as frog skin, toad urinary bladder, and the A6 Xenopus laevis kidney cell line have been widely used to elucidate the underlying mechanisms involved in the regulation of vectorial ion transport. More recently, the isolation of high-resistance mammalian cell lines has provided model systems in which to study differences and similarities between the regulation of ion transporter function in amphibian and mammalian renal epithelia. In the present study, we have compared the natriferic (Na+ retaining) responses to aldosterone, insulin, and vasotocin/vasopressin in the A6 and mpkCCDcl4 (mouse principal cells of the kidney cortical collecting duct) cell lines. The functional responses of the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) to hormonal stimulation were remarkably similar in both the amphibian and mammalian lines. In addition, insulin- and aldosterone-stimulated, reabsorptive Na+ transport in both cell lines requires the presence of functional PI3-kinase

Multidispensor cartesian robotic printer

Disclosed are systems, compositions, and methods for three-dimensional (3D) printing. An example system includes a plurality dispensers configured to deposit materials from their tips and a printing surface for receiving the materials. The system includes a position sensing detector configured to detect positions of the tips of the dispensers and the location and dimensions of the printing surface. The system includes a robotic positioning device configured to drive the dispensers. The system also includes a control unit configured to receive and map in a 3D space the positions of the tips of the dispensers and the position and dimensions of the printing surface. The control unit is further configured to control the robotic positioning device to drive the dispensers relative to the printing surface in the 3D space, and to independently deposit materials on the printing surface, or on material deposited on the printing surface

Speeding Snowmelt to Control Snow Mold

The high level of snowpack in the winter of 2022–2023 created a renewed interest in speed-melting snow to prevent snow mold on winter wheat crops, golf courses, and homeowners’ lawns. Snow molds are diseases caused by fungi growing under snow cover or in cool, wet weather. Winter wheat can be infected by three types of snow molds, while turf grasses can be infected by two kinds of snow molds. Plants will have a bleached color for pink snow mold or a thin layer of white or gray mycelium leaving the plants gray or white after they dry out for gray snow mold. This fact sheet will discuss ongoing research in Utah aimed at using soil amendments to speed the melting of snow to reduce snow mold pressure for small grains

The Effectors of the Transient Receptor Vanilloid Potential Type 4 in the Choroid Plexus

poster abstractHydrocephalus is a deadly disease that affects 1-2 births in 1000. When severe, this disease can result in irreversible brain damage. There are no drugs to treat hydrocephalus and the standard therapy is to surgically implant shunts to drain the excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) into other parts of the body. However this approach often results in a less than optimal outcomes. Shunt failures due to blockage, infection, and other causes are as high as 50% even in major medical centers which specialize in these procedures. Our laboratory is using a Meckel-Gruber syndrome rat model to study the development of severe hydrocephalus. Immunohistochemistry has been used to show the overexpression of Transient Receptor Vanilloid Potential Type 4, TRPV4 on the choroid plexus epithelial membrane. Because the choroid plexus is responsible for the majority of the cerebrospinal fluid that contributes to the progression of hydrocephalus, the TRPV4 calcium channel is a potential target that could contribute to the disease development. The endogenous activators of this channel in the choroid plexus are yet to be determined. Consequently, the current study is using a cultured choroid plexus cell line to identify endogenous activators of this channel. Potential activators include homovanillic acid (HVA), lysophosphatidic acid, and arachidonic acid. In addition, the introduction of novel compounds that act as sensitizers of the channel led to a set of experiments that were conducted to confirm the existence and identification of the sensitizers such as inflammatory cytokines. The effect of these compounds on the activation of the TRPV4 channel are being investigated using electrophysiological techniques in a porcine choroid plexus cell line with the characteristics of the in vivo choroid plexus. This cell line exhibits a robust increase in ion transport in response to a TRPV4 agonist. . The determination of the endogenous TRPV4 activators and sensitizers will provide important information in the development of a drug that can be used to treat hydrocephalus with minimal side effects by altering the activity of TRPV4

Environmental Testing of Tritium-Phosphor Glass Vials for Use in Long-Life Radioisotope Power Conversion Units

Power generation in extreme environments, such as the outer solar system, the night side of planets, or other low-illumination environments, currently presents a technology gap that challenges NASA's ambitious scientific goals. We are developing a radioisotope power cell (RPC) that utilizes commercially available tritium light sources and standard 1.85 eV InGaP2 photovoltaic cells to convert beta particle energy to electric energy. In the test program described here, we perform environmental tests on commercially available borosilicate glass vials internally coated with a ZnS luminescent phosphor that are designed to contain gaseous tritium in our proposed power source. Such testing is necessary to ensure that the glass containing the radioactive tritium is capable of withstanding the extreme environments of launch and space for extended periods of time

Differential neuroproteomic and systems biology analysis of spinal cord injury

Acute spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition with many consequences and no known effective treatment. Although it is quite easy to diagnose traumatic SCI, the assessment of injury severity and projection of disease progression or recovery are often challenging, as no consensus biomarkers have been clearly identified. Here rats were subjected to experimental moderate or severe thoracic SCI. At 24h and 7d postinjury, spinal cord segment caudal to injury center versus sham samples was harvested and subjected to differential proteomic analysis. Cationic/anionic-exchange chromatography, followed by 1D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was used to reduce protein complexity. A reverse phase liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry proteomic platform was then utilized to identify proteome changes associated with SCI. Twenty-two and 22 proteins were up-regulated at 24 h and 7 day after SCI, respectively; whereas 19 and 16 proteins are down-regulated at 24 h and 7 day after SCI, respectively, when compared with sham control. A subset of 12 proteins were identified as candidate SCI biomarkers - TF (Transferrin), FASN (Fatty acid synthase), NME1 (Nucleoside diphosphate kinase 1), STMN1 (Stathmin 1), EEF2 (Eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2), CTSD (Cathepsin D), ANXA1 (Annexin A1), ANXA2 (Annexin A2), PGM1 (Phosphoglucomutase 1), PEA15 (Phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes 15), GOT2 (Glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 2), and TPI-1 (Triosephosphate isomerase 1), data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD003473. In addition, Transferrin, Cathepsin D, and TPI-1 and PEA15 were further verified in rat spinal cord tissue and/or CSF samples after SCI and in human CSF samples from moderate/severe SCI patients. Lastly, a systems biology approach was utilized to determine the critical biochemical pathways and interactome in the pathogenesis of SCI. Thus, SCI candidate biomarkers identified can be used to correlate with disease progression or to identify potential SCI therapeutic targets

The normal increase in insulin after a meal may be required to prevent postprandial renal sodium and volume losses

Despite the effects of insulinopenia in type 1 diabetes and evidence that insulin stimulates multiple renal sodium transporters, it is not known whether normal variation in plasma insulin regulates sodium homeostasis physiologically. This study tested whether the normal postprandial increase in plasma insulin significantly attenuates renal sodium and volume losses. Rats were instrumented with chronic artery and vein catheters, housed in metabolic cages, and connected to hydraulic swivels. Measurements of urine volume and sodium excretion (UNaV) over 24 h and the 4-h postprandial period were made in control (C) rats and insulin-clamped (IC) rats in which the postprandial increase in insulin was prevented. Twenty-four-hour urine volume (36 ± 3 vs. 15 ± 2 ml/day) and UNaV (3.0 ± 0.2 vs. 2.5 ± 0.2 mmol/day) were greater in the IC compared with C rats, respectively. Four hours after rats were given a gel meal, blood glucose and urine volume were greater in IC rats, but UNaV decreased. To simulate a meal while controlling blood glucose, C and IC rats received a glucose bolus that yielded peak increases in blood glucose that were not different between groups. Urine volume (9.7 ± 0.7 vs. 6.0 ± 0.8 ml/4 h) and UNaV (0.50 ± 0.08 vs. 0.20 ± 0.06 mmol/4 h) were greater in the IC vs. C rats, respectively, over the 4-h test. These data demonstrate that the normal increase in circulating insulin in response to hyperglycemia may be required to prevent excessive renal sodium and volume losses and suggest that insulin may be a physiological regulator of sodium balance

Charged Black Holes in Two-Dimensional String Theory

We discuss two dimensional string theories containing gauge fields introduced either via coupling to open strings, in which case we get a Born-Infeld type action, or via heterotic compactification. The solutions to the modified background field equations are charged black holes which exhibit interesting space-time geometries. We also compute their masses and charges.Comment: 39 page